Return To Sky Raven (Book 2) by T. Michael Ford Read Free Book Online Page A

anger, he readied two fireballs in each hand and looked like he was going to use them on Maya. Almost instantly, Corporal Higs and eight guards with swords drawn had him and his friends surrounded. In fact, the entire remaining contingent of forty guardsmen all drew their weapons and eyed the crowd suspiciously. Naton just looked flabbergasted as the fire wizards were forcibly placed in bindings and held in place by several tough looking warriors.
    With Naton no longer a threat, Higs approached the base of the boulder platform and looked up at us. “You may just want to come clean on this one and get it over with, ma’am.”
    Maya nodded and removed her helmet with a flourish, clipping it to her belt and facing the crowd for the entire world to see. I saw the beautiful, stunning face of the girl I desperately loved, while they apparently saw the hated face of a lifelong implacable enemy. The reaction was a period of almost complete stony silence, followed by a palatable wave of shock and anger. Thankfully, no one was throwing spells or getting violent yet. Looking into the grim faces of the determined guards may have kept their intentions peaceful, but there was no doubt they were very, very upset. I jumped up onto the rock next to her and looked out over the assembled faces. The few friends I had in the group almost caused me to laugh out loud, but I snuffed that immediately. Lin’s and Julia’s faces were a picture of open-mouthed entrancement. Hons look extremely uncomfortable, and if I had to guess, he was shifting back and forth between anger and wanting to date her. As for Alera, her expression was almost unreadable; she didn’t look mad, more like happiness mixed with realization.
    Naton, of course, was fighting his bonds animatedly and screaming out remarks like “See, I told you so!” and “I told you she was evil!” But no one seemed to care; they were too busy shouting at each other, at Naton, and at the guardsmen. Maya took it all very calmly; I can only imagine what Winya was saying to her throughout all this. My dark elf waited patiently for a few minutes for the din to die down, but she never got the chance.
    “Enough!” In the confusion, Alera had climbed up and joined Maya and me on the rock shelf. She stomped angrily and slammed her staff end into the stone creating gravel shrapnel that sprayed out into the crowd. “I didn’t just spend the better part of a day healing you people to have you turn around and undo all my hard work!” She glared fiercely at the people in the front rows, and almost like guilty children, they quieted and waited for her to continue. “You all know me, and you all know my friend and protector is a nebulia. We will put this accusation of evil to rest right now!” Instantly, she triggered the summoning spell, and a pinkish light arch formed on the rock face next to her. I recognized it as the same process she had used in the tournament ring. A few seconds later, the bulldog-headed golden nebulia stepped through in full battle armor, with his greatsword strapped across his back. He stopped and scanned the crowd with no expression, then turned to Alera. She spoke a few words in his odd language and nodded toward Maya. With a visible start, he turned his full attention to her, taking her hands gently and looking into her face. Maya smiled warmly at the creature as they stood motionless for a short while. Suddenly, he stepped back and drew his greatsword with practiced precision - it barely made a sound as it cleared leather. A number of people in the crowd drew quick breaths in surprise, and Naton and his group started to smile in vindication.
    Instead of attacking, though, the nebulia uttered a very doglike whine and performed an intricate sword salute which finished with him dropping to one knee and reverently placing the greatsword at her feet. He lowered his head and remained there motionless until Maya put a hand on his shoulder, and with a regal nod, beckoned him to